Editing The Covenant (level)

{{Title|The Covenant}}

{{Level infobox

|prev=''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]''

|next=''[[Cortana (level)|Cortana]]''

|name='''''The Covenant'''''

}}

{{Article quote|Breach the barrier. Stop [[Prophet of Truth|Truth]].}}

==Summary==

After defeating the Covenant forces outside, the Master Chief and the Arbiter enter the citadel, only to discover that Truth is moments away from using Sergeant Johnson to activate the Halo Array. In a desperate effort to stop Truth, Miranda Keyes crash lands her Pelican into the citadel's control room and attempts to rescue Johnson.  However, she is killed by Truth who then forces Johnson to activate the Ark. United by the common purpose of stopping the rings, the [[Gravemind]] offers an alliance with the Chief and the Arbiter. With the Flood's help, the Chief and the Arbiter defeat Truth's remaining followers and shut down the Halos. The Arbiter then personally executes Truth, ending the Human-Covenant war at last. Moments later, however, the Gravemind and the Flood turn against them. Johnson escapes in Keyes' Pelican while the Chief and the Arbiter fight their way back outside. Upon escaping, they finally discover [[Cortana]]'s solution to the Flood: [[Installation 08|a newly-constructed Halo ring]] built to replace the destroyed [[Installation 04]]. When fired, the Halo will cleanse the Flood infestation upon the Ark while leaving the rest of the galaxy unharmed. The Chief realizes that in order to fire it, he must rescue Cortana from High Charity as she still possesses the [[Activation Index]] from the first Halo ring.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpLrYUtQwVU '''{''Cutscene''}''']

*'''Commander [[Miranda Keyes]] (COM)''': "We hit these three generators, and the barrier will fall?"

*'''[[Sergeant Johnson]] (COM)''': "Roger that."

*'''[[Hocus]] (COM)''': "[[Charlie Foxtrot]]! Tower One approach has active Triple-A!"

*'''ODST Sergeant ([[Stacker]])''': "Pile out! Go, go, go! Alright, up the beach! Take out that Wraith!"

*'''Commander Keyes (COM)''': "Roger that, Hocus. Get out of there!"

''The Master Chief and the ODSTs storm the beach, eliminate the enemy infantry - including a [[Jiralhanae War Chieftain]] and destroy the Anti-Air Wraith.''

*'''Commander Keyes (COM)''': "Get to the First Tower. Shut it down."

''As the Chief drives up the hill towards the 1st generator, he sees the Sangheili Phantoms battling with the other Covenant loyalist Phantoms near the second tower.''

*'''ODST/Marine''': "Objective in sight! Watch for heavy armor!"

*'''Commander Keyes (COM)''': "Chief. You've got to offline that tower."

*'''ODST/Marine''': "We'll hold things down here."

''On the top floor, the Chief finds a [[Jiralhanae Chieftain]] and its [[Jiralhanae Bodyguard]]s guarding the tower controls. He engages and eliminates the Jiralhanae [[pack]].''

'''''Close air support.'''''

----

*'''Commander Keyes (COM)''': "Understood. Chief, clear an [[LZ]], then get inside the tower."

*'''Thel 'Vadam''': "Darken this tower and the barrier will fall. Go, Spartan! We have no time to waste."

*'''Commander Keyes (COM)''': "Hit the switch, Chief, and the barrier will fall!"

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afhT2Mesrrc '''{''Cutscene''}''']

''The barrier falls. The ''Shadow of Intent'' advances on the Citadel.''

'''{''Gameplay''}'''

*'''Commander Keyes (COM)''': "Shipmaster, what's your status?"

*'''Thel 'Vadam''': "To the top of these hills, Oracle, no higher. We cannot risk your capture by the Flood."

*'''Commander Keyes (COM)''': "Shipmaster's carrier is out of commission, Chief. I need ''you'' to take down Truth. The Flood's just going to put pressure on him; accelerate his plans. Punch through the cliffs! Get inside that Citadel!"

===Journey's End===

'''''Storm the Citadel.'''''

''The Assault Team gets through the snowy cliffs, where they encounter a few small Covenant emplacements. In the distance, [[Type-26 Banshee|Banshees]] and [[AV-14 Hornet|Hornets]] are battling each other.''

*'''Pelican Pilot (COM)''': "Citadel in sight! Brutes are mobilizing everything they've got."

*'''Stacker (COM)''': "Hornets, inbound!"

*'''Pelican Pilot (COM)''': "I count two Scarabs! Repeat: ''two'' Scarabs!"

*'''343 Guilty Spark''': "''Calamity!'' If only we had more time!"

*'''[[Cortana]] ([[Cortana Moment]])''': "[[Gravemind|It]] asked, and I answered. ''(turns bitter)'' For a moment of safety, I loosed damnation upon the stars."

*'''Sergeant Johnson''': ''(to Truth)'' "What's the matter, big shot? Can't start your own party?"

''Truth leans forward so only Johnson can hear him.''

*'''Commander Keyes''': "You're right..."

*'''Sergeant Johnson''': "Do it. Me...then you..."

*'''Sergeant Johnson''': "''No!''"

''He drops the Spiker, and shakes a fist to emphasize his speech.''

*'''Prophet of Truth''': "You were ''weak''. And gods must be ''strong''."

''He forces Johnson's hand down on the panel with a smug look. Johnson, still overcome with grief and shock, doesn't resist. Instantly, the Control Terminal begins to change and heighten. Truth raises his arms in triumph. The scene moves down the corridor, as six out of the seven holographic Halo rings light up one by one ([[Installation 04]] has not yet been replaced, so its ring does not light up). At the end of the corridor, the Master Chief and Thel 'Vadam emerge from the lift. Two Flood [[tank form]]s drop from above. The Master Chief draws his [[MA5C assault rifle|assault rifle]] and aims, and 'Vadam activates his [[Type-1 energy sword|energy sword]].''

'''Note:''' In the subtitles, the Gravemind says "stop" instead of "halt."

'''{''Gameplay''}'''

===Revelation===

''The Chief enters a room with holograms of Truth in the Forerunner systems.''

*'''Prophet of Truth (Hologram)''': "How could I have known the Parasite would follow?! Undoubtedly this is the Heretics' doing! A final, ''bitter'' curse. Clear evidence of [[Age of Conflict|''treachery'' long hidden]]!"

''In the second room, Truth's holograms broadcast a final message.''

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYqnZuwk3q0 '''{''Cutscene''}''']

*'''Thel 'Vadam''': "And so… you must be silenced."

'''Vadam stabs his sword through Truth's back. It goes clean through him; the two points of the energy sword pierce through his chest as he writhes and screams in pain. Flood spores shoot out of his mouth and the infection lets out a pitiful squeal as both it and its host die. The last of the [[Hierarchs]] is dead.''

''Suddenly, the ground begins to tremble, and massive tentacles rise up all around them. Chief wields his assault rifle and 'Vadam reactivates his sword. They both stare up at the tentacles which are now reaching high above them. The Gravemind laughs maniacally.''

''Johnson leaps into the Pelican's cockpit and starts to take off, heading for the hole in the window that Keyes made earlier. The Chief climbs onto the control panel of the Ark and jumps up, grabbing onto the departing Pelican's landing gear. 'Vadam deactivates his sword and grabs the Chief's hand. Just before the Pelican can get out, the tentacles knock both of them off. The Pelican spirals out of control and falls out of sight. 'Vadam and the Chief land in a heap on the Citadel's floor. The Gravemind's tentacles swerve around them and multiple Flood forms can be heard approaching.''

*'''Gravemind''': "Now the gate has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside… corpses shift and offer room, a fate you ''must'' abide!"

*'''Thel 'Vadam''': ''(almost exasperated)'' "We trade one villain for another."

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LI30TaOKWU '''{''Cutscene''}''']

''The Chief lands at the bottom of the shaft, landing in a room not unlike the entrances to the three shield towers. He looks beside him as the Arbiter comes down, and then stands up. A flickering, spooky image of Cortana appears in the hallway, running. She starts to turn the corner and disappears, after a split second. The Chief casually walks around the corner as though amused by Cortana's antics, but 'Vadam is confused.''

''With 'Vadam trailing far behind, the Chief looks around the corner. He sees a control panel. Cortana appears a second time, again for only a second, walking loftily (and spookily) towards it. She stops at the panel and disappears. The Master Chief goes to the panel and activates it.''

'''Vadam turns and looks at the Chief.''

*'''Thel 'Vadam''': "A replacement. For the [[Installation 04|ring]] you destroyed."

''Spark hovers up from behind and comes up to the Chief.''

*'''343 Guilty Spark''': "Though it will take time to fabricate an [[Activation Index]], I will see to the letter that..." ''(he flies too far away)''

''The Arbiter turns to the Chief.''

*'''Thel 'Vadam''': "How will you light it?"

''Fade to black.''

''Level ends.''

==Trivia==

===Glitches===

{{Main|Glitches}}

*If one starts at Rally Point Alpha, and head back to the first tower, the elevator controls will be separated from the platform, and if one goes up, one will be stuck, because the controls remain at the bottom of the lift. If one does not go up the lift, the Hornets the player needs to continue the level with will disappear. If one destroys the two Hornets the Marine Pilots offer, the third Hornet will fly down to the player. One can get him out and drive this particular Hornet to the first tower and reach incredible heights. If one goes near the first tower entrance, the Hornet will disappear.

*At Rally Point Alpha, on the island where the Phantom deploys the Anti-air Wraith, one can trick the game into believing that one is stranded on the island. Then the game will spawn a Hornet piloted by a Marine Pilot who will land it on the island and offer it to the player. The player can have infinite Marine Pilots and an infinite number of Pilot controlled Hornets by exploiting this, causing the map to overload.

*Occasionally, when a Banshee pilot dies, or when the player boards one, the Brute will be holding a human Battle Rifle.

*After the player makes the Elites the enemy by betraying allies, if the player gets in a vehicle and allows an Elite to board the player, he will be unable to melee or melee the player out.

*The [[Infected Brute Chieftain]] Glitch may be seen on this level.

*Occasionally, while a corpse is being infected by the Flood, without the first Pod infector dying, another Pod infector may enter it. Despite this, only one Pod infector will be present in the Combat Form. The other Pod infector will be attempting to dig into the corpse.

*It is possible to "control" a Scarab in this level. First, kill one Scarab then land on the other. Kill all enemies then stand on the top. It will walk towards the direction the player is aiming at because it's AI is scripted to follow the player.

*If one retains 343 Guilty Spark by destroying the Separatist Phantom that comes to pick up Arbiter and deploy an Auto-turret facing Guilty Spark, the Auto-turret will shoot at him for unknown reasons.

*It is possible to board the Phantom the Arbiter goes into by jumping in quickly before he goes in. Afterwards, the player will fall of and die, or, if they are holding a turret, the Phantom will stay invisible and immobile.

===Mistakes===

*When gameplay first starts in the beginning of the level, there are 2 Pelicans dropping UNSC forces instead of only Hocus' Pelican. This is done mostly for 3-4 players co-op.

*The [[D77H-TCI|Pelican]] that crashes at the start flies past the wreckage and lands at the waterfall—it doesn't land where its crash site was positioned. Sometimes, its two pilots' bodies can be found in or around the water below the waterfall.

*When the Scarabs fall down from the sky, it seems as if they fall out of nowhere.

*The [[Siege of Madrigal]] song and [[Microsoft Sam]] can be heard on this level.

[[File:71109171-Medium.jpg|thumb|The [[Marathon]] symbol that appears on the elevator control panels.]]

*The Legendary symbol, granted for completing this level on Legendary, can be seen in the Campaign lobby, and is one of the two symbols that is darker than the rest.

*[[Bungie]] has stated that this is the longest level in the whole ''Halo'' Trilogy, partially because it is the Covenant's ''last stand'' against Humanity. It is also the only Campaign level where players can use [[AV-14 Hornet]]s.

*This is the second and last level in ''Halo 3'' to have [[ODST]]s fight alongside with the player.

*This is the only level in the Halo Trilogy that involves a battle against two Scarabs at the same time.

*This is the first and only level in the trilogy in which the [[Flood]] are allies to the player.

**Attacking your Flood allies will not cause them to turn against you, nor will the Arbiter react except for a few comments.  

*This level and ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]'' are the only levels in the trilogy in which Brutes can be seen engaging the Flood.

**The only way for all the Elites to be Majors is to have the Thunderstorm skull on.

**This is also the only level where living Minors can be seen during gameplay.

*This is the first level in which the player can use the [[Spartan Laser]].

*If played on Easy or Normal difficulties, there is a second [[Spartan Laser]] near the crashed Pelican at the beginning of the level.  

*It is possible to progress through the level without destroying the Anti-air Wraith in the beginning. The Pelican will not arrive and no enemies will spawn in the canyon that one would otherwise drive through, until one reaches the area around the tower.

*It is possible to get a [[Mongoose]] or a [[Warthog]] onto the one of the Scarabs in the Scarab fight. Bungie has conveniently placed ramps leading up to both Scarabs as soon as they land. Grab a Mongoose or a Warthog and just line up the Scarab during the jump.

==Gallery==

<gallery>

File:H3 Ark Warthog Concept.jpg|Early concept art of the level's closure.

File:Distant Islands.jpg|Islands off the main battleground's coast.

File:ArbiterRoar-large.jpg|The Arbiter roars in triumph following the Prophet of Truth's death.

</gallery>

==Sources==

{{succession box | before = ''[[The Ark (Level)|The Ark]]'' | title = ''Halo 3'' Campaign Missions | years = '''''The Covenant''''' |after = ''[[Cortana (Level)|Cortana]]''}}